Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology
Alternative names: Seven Spider Demons, Spider Maidens, Pansi Cave Demons
Category: Spider
The Myth
The Spider Demons are seven powerful spider spirits from Journey to the West. Their true forms are enormous spiders said to be as large as buckets, but they usually appear as extraordinarily beautiful young women to deceive travelers.
The seven sisters lived in Pansi Cave beneath Pansi Ridge. Their greatest weapon was the silk they produced from their navels. The strands were incredibly thick and strong, allowing them to instantly weave vast webs capable of trapping even powerful supernatural beings.
During Tang Sanzang’s pilgrimage, the monk stopped nearby to beg for food and encountered the seven beautiful women. They invited him inside, but the meal they prepared was made from human flesh. Realizing they were demons, Tang Sanzang tried to flee, but the sisters bound him with ropes and planned to steam and eat him after finishing their bath in the nearby Cleansing Spring.
Sun Wukong discovered their plot after questioning the local earth god. Finding the demons bathing, he transformed into an eagle and stole their clothing to delay them while rescuing Tang Sanzang. Zhu Bajie later attempted to kill the bathing demons, but they escaped by shooting silk from their navels and trapping him inside enormous webs.
The seven sisters fled to the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord, their senior brother, who sheltered them at the Yellow Flower Temple. Together they fought Sun Wukong, again covering the battlefield with vast sheets of spider silk. Wukong eventually learned that they were spider spirits and armed his monkey followers with double-pronged forks to cut through the webs. Once the silk was destroyed, the Spider Demons were forced to reveal their true forms as gigantic spiders. Sun Wukong killed all seven before defeating the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord.
Although famed for their beauty, the Spider Demons were not powerful martial fighters. Their greatest strengths were shapeshifting, deception, and their supernatural spider silk, which could instantly entangle enemies and cover entire buildings in enormous webs.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 蜘蛛精. In 維基百科，自由的百科全書. Retrieved June 28, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%9C%98%E8%9B%9B%E7%B2%BE